What is an ERP? Why use an ERP to manage your business?

What is an ERP?

ERP software (short for “Enterprise Resource Planning”), sometimes called PGI (“Progiciel de Gestion Intégré”) in French, makes it possible to manage the financial flows of a company, by incorporating a set of specific management functions. It includes the management of sales, purchases, wages, stocks and accounting.

The main objective of an ERP is to harmonise a company’s information system: it centralises all data in a single, shared database.

Why an ERP?

Tools such as Word or Excel, although very useful, do not allow for rapid dissemination of data within the company as they do not communicate with anything. The same data is therefore often entered manually multiple times in the information system.

Since the various departments of the company do not share a common information base, the company ends up with a multitude of isolated databases and an infinite number of documents and calculation sheets. This makes it difficult to find information and to update or analyse data.

An ERP facilitates the processing and distribution of data between departments, according to the access levels of employees, thanks to its shared database. It ensures that consistent data is used throughout the company’s transactions and saves time by avoiding data re-entry.

In short, an ERP brings together the various processes linked to the company’s transactions to simplify the monitoring of operations from request to collection, provides greater consistency in the information system and promotes traceability for all transactions.

ERP vs CRM

The distinction between ERP and CRM is mainly in the information that the software analyses. An ERP, as mentioned above, deals with the financial flows of the company, i.e. information related to transactions, invoicing, accounting, etc. A CRM deals with information related to the various relationships of the company, such as contacts, e-mail or telephone communications, scheduled appointments, customer requests or complaints, etc.

ERP vs CMS

While ERP manages the various financial flows of a company, CMS specifically manages the creation of content, be it websites, statistics, dashboards or documentation.

Related article (available only in french)

MCA Time. (Online). 2022. ERP, CRM, CMS, software grouping… what is it? Available: https://mcatime.com/erp-crm-cms-regroupement-software-quest-ce-que-cest/

To summarize

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is an essential piece of integrated management software for companies, as it streamlines and centralizes the management of various processes and data flows within the enterprise.

By bringing together functionalities such as sales, purchasing, payroll, inventory and accounting management, ERP simplifies financial management and promotes data consistency.

It overcomes the inefficiencies caused by using multiple, non-integrated tools, such as Word or Excel, by centralizing all information in a shared database.

By enabling the rapid dissemination of data between different company departments, ERP improves internal communication, transaction traceability and productivity.

In short, ERP is a key element in the overall management of a company, optimizing planning, resources, sales and inventory, while guaranteeing more efficient processes and better data management.

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